Optical cables are used for transmitting information between an optical transmitter and a receiver station. The optical cable comprises elongate members disposed in a core section of the optical cable. In the embodiment of an optical cable at least one of the elongate members is formed as an optical transmission element. The optical transmission elements may be configured as a micromodule containing for example up to twelve optical fibers or even more which are protected by a polymeric material in the form of a tube. The micromodules are stranded around a central supporting element and fixed by a binder.
Conventional stranding techniques require rigid buffer tubes to avoid that the applied binder effects the attenuation of the fibers within the tube. However, optical transmission elements having such rigid polymer tubes require the use of special tools such as knifes or scissors to remove the buffer tube when optical waveguides housed by the buffer tube have to be exposed to connect the optical waveguides to a transmitter or receiver station.
There is a need to provide an improved fiber optic cable that allows an easy access to optical fibers housed in a buffer tube of an elongate member. There is also a need to provide an apparatus to manufacture an optical cable which allows an easy access to optical fibers of an elongate member. A further aspect of the invention relates to a method to manufacture the optical cable.